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The 100 best animated movies of all time

“Frozen,” “Toy Story 3” and “Finding Nemo” have each grossed more than $400 million at the domestic box office, becoming some of the most successful movies of all time. And as "Incredibles 2" heads to theaters this weekend, audiences show few signs of animation fatigue. Here are the 100 best.

Animated movies are among the top-grossing Hollywood films today. Though many of these movies are primarily aimed at children, studios ensure that they are easily enjoyed by kids and adults alike. In recent years, movies such as “Frozen,” “Toy Story 3” and “Finding Nemo” have grossed more than $400 million at the domestic box office, becoming some of the most successful movies of all time.

And audiences show few signs of animation fatigue. In 2004, “The Incredibles” grossed about $328 million in inflation-adjusted dollars at the U.S. box office. A sequel to the film, “Incredibles 2,” is slated for a June 15 release, 14 years later, and is already on track to become the most successful animated movie ever in pre-sale tickets.

Of course, ticket sales do not always indicate the overall quality of a film. 24/7 Wall Street has determined the best animated movies of all time — both foreign and domestic — by using online audience and critic ratings.

Pixar is one of the modern animation pioneers, promoting computer-based animation. Several movies produced using this technique are among the highest-rated animated films — and they did exceedingly well at the box office, too. In addition to the titles listed above, highest-rated computer-based animation movies include “Inside Out,” which was produced by Pixar, and “Despicable Me 2,” which was not. These movies regularly gross hundreds of millions of dollars in the U.S. alone.

Many of the best animated movies don’t do quite as well financially yet find great acclaim among audiences and critics. Examples include the recent “Paddington 2” and Wes Anderson’s “Isle of Dogs.” Many of these films also come from overseas, especially Japan, which has a robust animation industry.

Of these international filmmakers, none is more popular than Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli, who directed 11 of the best animated movies. Although Miyazaki’s films are generally made with Japanese casts and crews, a few movies have been dubbed in English using popular Western actors, including Kirsten Dunst, Matt Damon, and Cate Blanchett.

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America’s favorite superhero family is returning to the big screen 14 years after the debut of “Incredibles.” Who’s returning, who isn’t and who’s joining the “Incredibles” lineup for the first time? Pixar Animation Studios

Craig T. Nelson (Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible) is best known for his starring roles in the Emmy Award-winning show “Coach” and 1982 horror classic “Poltergeist.” More recently, he was a series regular on “Parenthood” and appeared in the film “Book Club” this year with Diane Keaton and Jane Fonda. Jimmy Morrison, EPA

Holly Hunter (Helen Parr/Elastigirl) won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1993 for her role in “The Piano.” She’s also well known for Oscar-nominated performances in “Broadcast News” (1987), “The Firm” (1993) and “Thirteen” (2004). Hunter recently played Emily’s mother (opposite Ray Romano as her father) in “The Big Sick.” Jean Baptiste Lacroix, WireImage

Sarah Vowell (Violet Parr) is best known off the big screen as a nonfiction writer and contributor to Ira Glass’ “This American Life” radio broadcast. Huck Milner replaces Spencer Fox — who originated the role but is now 25 — as the Parrs' speedy middle child, Dash. This is Milner’s first film. Jesse Grant, Getty Images for Disney

Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as Lucius Best/Frozone, Mr. Incredible’s crime-fighting partner who starred in the original film’s most famous scene: “Honey, where’s my super suit?” The acclaimed actor has been in film classics like “Goodfellas” (1990), “Pulp Fiction” (1994) and “Snakes on a Plane” (2006). Alberto E. Rodriguez, Getty Images for Disney

Brad Bird, returning as the film’s director and writer, is also reprising his role as the infamous designer-to-the-heroes, Edna Mode. Bird also directed “Ratatouille” and Warner Bros.’ “The Iron Giant” and spent nine years as an executive consultant for “The Simpsons.” Frazer Harrison, Getty Images

John Ratzenberger is known for his Emmy-nominated performance as Cliff Clavin in “Cheers” and long list of Pixar voice roles including Hamm in “Toy Story,” Mack in “Cars” and the Yeti in “Monsters, Inc.” He returns as the villain Underminer, who appeared only in the last few minutes of “Incredibles.” Jimmy Morrison, EPA

You may recognize Sophia Bush from her TV roles as cheerleader Brooke Davis from “One Tree Hill” or Detective Erin Lindsay in “Chicago P.D.” Offscreen, Davis is an activist with multiple charities and organizations and frequents social media to share causes. Bush is a newcomer to the “Incredibles” franchise, playing Voyd: an overeager young superhero obsessed with Elastigirl. Jean Baptiste Lacroix, WireImage

Catherine Keener also joins the cast as Evelyn Deavor, who helps run a big-time telecommunications company with her brother, Winston (Bob Odenkirk). She’s best known for her roles in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” (2005), “Being John Malkovich” (1999) and, recently, “Get Out” (2017). Frazer Harrison, Getty Images

Bob Odenkirk, another new face in the “Incredibles” franchise, plays Winston Deavor, the brother to Keener’s Evelyn and the leader of a worldwide telecommunications company. Odenkirk spent nine years as Saul Goodman in “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” and recently played Ben Bagdikian in Steven Spielberg’s “The Post.” Jean Baptiste Lacroix, WireImage

Italian actress Isabella Rossellini is a former Lancome model and starred in “Blue Velvet” (1986) and “Death Becomes Her” (1992). She joins the “Incredibles” cast as the Ambassador, who is working to bring superheroes back into mainstream society. John Lamparski, WireImage

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In their perpetual pursuit of profits, movie studios often remake films rather than take a risk on something completely new. These safe bets often pan out, as audiences flock to the theater to see the new rendition of a familiar title. In some instances, moviegoers find that the remake has accomplished the uncommon feat of surpassing the original flick in quality. USA TODAY partner 24/7 Wall St. determined the best and worst movie remakes of all time by creating an index based on user ratings from the Internet Movie Database and Rotten Tomatoes. Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

41. The Fly (1986) • Directed by: David Cronenberg • Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz • Domestic box office: $40.46 million • Original film: The Fly (1958) ALSO READ: American Cities With the Most Property Crime in Every State Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

15. The Thing (1982) • Directed by: John Carpenter • Starring: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David • Domestic box office: $13.78 million • Original film: The Thing from Another World (1951) ALSO READ: The Net Worth of the American Presidents: Washington to Trump Courtesy of Universal Pictures

5. Imitation of Life (1959) • Directed by: Douglas Sirk • Starring: Lana Turner, John Gavin, Sandra Dee • Domestic box office: $13.99 million • Original film: Imitation of Life (1934) ALSO READ: 26 Completely Different New Year's Days Around the World Courtesy of Universal Pictures

To determine the best animated films of all time, 24/7 Wall Street created an index based on each film’s Rotten Tomatoes average critic rating, Rotten Tomatoes average audience rating, and the IMDb average user rating. To be considered, each film needed to have at least 10,000 total user votes between IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, as well as 10 approved Tomatometer critic reviews.

We averaged the user ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb, weighted by the number of votes for each. The combined user rating was then averaged with the Rotten Tomatoes critic rating. Domestic box office data comes from online box-office reporting service Box Office Mojo and is not adjusted for inflation. However, box office numbers cited in the introduction were adjusted for inflation using the personal consumption expenditure price index (PCEPI) annual averages from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

24/7 Wall Street is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

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